JP3329266B2 - Cooling unit for vehicle air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rib structure for suppressing condensed water generated in a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner from scattering to a downstream side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to prevent condensed water generated in a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner from scattering downstream.
Various proposals have been made. Representative examples thereof are proposed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-9655, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-28893, and the like.
As shown in the figure, the air blown from the blower 100 is
No. 01, where the air is cooled and dehumidified, and a mesh member 102 is vertically arranged on the downstream side of the evaporator 101 so as to be orthogonal to the flow of the air.

[0003] As a result, the condensed water 103 in the form of droplets generated in the evaporator 101 is captured by the fine mesh of the net 102, and the condensed water 103 is then gravity-driven.
It falls down along. In such an arrangement layout, the blast air from the blower 100 is applied perpendicularly to the evaporator 101, and the air passage downstream of the evaporator 101 has a small bending, so that the wind speed distribution in the evaporator 101 is almost zero. Become uniform. Therefore, the condensed water 103 is relatively uniformly scattered and trapped on the mesh body 102, so that the condensed water can be prevented from being scattered downstream of the mesh body 102.

[0004]

The present inventors are currently developing a rear-seat cooling unit as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as a cooling unit for a vehicle air conditioner. The vehicle shown in FIG. 6 is an RV vehicle having three rows of seats in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
Are arranged at the side positions of the seat 11 in the third row (rearmost part). The rear-seat cooling unit 10 includes a blower 12, an evaporator 13, and a case 14, as shown in FIG.
The cool air cooled by the evaporator 13 is sent to the ceiling duct 16 via the pillar duct 15, and the cool air is blown from the outlet 16 a of the ceiling duct 16 in the front-rear direction of the ceiling of the vehicle compartment.

FIG. 8 shows a specific layout of the rear-seat cooling unit 10 described above. The cooling unit 10 is placed in a limited narrow space such as the side position of the seat 11 in the third row (rearmost portion). In order to secure the required cooling capacity, a centrifugal blower 12 is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle, and an evaporator 13 is arranged on the front side of the blower 12 in order to secure the required cooling capacity.

Here, the evaporator 13 has a rectangular plane shape in which the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is the long side direction, and has a slight inclination angle θ (for example, about 30 °) from the horizontal plane, so that the evaporator 13 is on the front side of the vehicle. It is inclined so that the downstream side (air downstream side) is the upper side and the rear side of the vehicle (air upstream side) is the lower side. In the cooling unit case 14 made of resin, a first air passage 17 that guides air blown from the blower 12 to an upper portion of the evaporator 13 is formed.

[0007] The evaporator 13 is configured by a combination of a well-known plate fin and a round tube. 8, the air passes through the evaporator 13 from the upper side to the lower side in FIG. 8 along the plate surface of the plate fin of the evaporator 13. On the other hand, in the cooling unit case 14, the second portion from the lower part of the evaporator 13 toward the vehicle front side
An air passage 18 is provided. The second air passage 18 is bent so that the air that has passed through the evaporator 13 from the upper side to the lower side flows upwards in the opposite direction. Therefore, the blowing air changes its flow direction upward in the second blowing path 18 rapidly.

The rear-seat cooling unit 10 having such an arrangement layout is provided on the downstream side of the evaporator 13, that is, below the evaporator 13, in order to prevent the condensed water from scattering. It is conceivable to arrange the mesh 102 according to FIG. However, in this case, the mesh body 102 is slightly angled θ from the horizontal plane along the direction in which the evaporator 13 is arranged.
To be inclined.

[0009] Therefore, the condensed water 103 is once stored in the reticulated body 1.
Even if the condensed water 103 is captured on the mesh 02, the condensed water 103 cannot fall on the reticulated body 102 due to gravity, and the condensed water 103 stays on the reticulated body 102 and expands into a polka dot. Then, the expanded condensed water 103 receives the wind pressure, separates from the mesh body 102, and falls into the airflow. The condensed water 103 that has fallen into this air flow is
It scatters downstream along the air flow and causes problems such as leaking into the vehicle interior from a duct connection portion or the like.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above points. As shown in FIG. 8, the cooler (evaporator) is set at a predetermined angle θ such that the downstream side of the air flow of the cooler (evaporator) faces upward from the horizontal plane. It is an object of the present invention to suppress condensed water generated in the cooler from scattering to the downstream side in the cooling unit going upward after the blown air passes through the cooler from above to below.

Another object of the present invention is to simplify the structure for suppressing the scattering of condensed water.

[0012]

According to the experimental study conducted by the present inventors, in the arrangement layout shown in FIG. 8, the air flow direction is higher on the downstream side (lower side) of the cooler (13). The wind speed is sharp, so that the wind speed is high outside the flow channel bend and the wind speed is low inside the bend, and the wind speed distribution becomes uneven. For this reason, in the second ventilation path (18), in particular, the case inner wall surface (18
a) A phenomenon occurs in which condensed water is blown up by an airflow having a high wind speed as indicated by reference numeral 105, and this has been found to be a major cause of scattering of condensed water.

The present invention aims at achieving the above object by focusing on this phenomenon. In other words, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the second air passage (18) is provided at a portion (18a) outside the bend where the wind speed increases in the second air passage (18).
A rib (19) projecting inward is arranged, and the tip of the rib (19) is placed.
At the end, an area-enlarging portion (1) for enlarging the area of the rib (19)
9a), and the ribs (19) suppress the blow-up of condensed water along the portion (18a) outside the bend.

According to this, even in a cooling unit that reverses the direction of the air that has passed through the cooler (13) from above to below in the second air passage (18), the second air passage (1) is also provided.
By ribs (19) projecting in 8), blown up phenomenon of condensed water in the bending of the outer portion (18a) in the suppression
Wear. Moreover, the rib (19) is provided at the tip of the rib (19).
Forming an area enlarged portion (19a) for enlarging the area of
Therefore, the condensed water that has reached the area enlarged portion (19a) is thin.
Spreads like a film. Therefore, the condensed water is
Flying can be effectively suppressed.

Here, the area enlargement portion (19a) is a concrete example.
Tip of the rib (19) as the second aspect of the present invention is to
From right angle to the upstream of air flow
it can.

Next, according to the third aspect of the present invention, a drain port is provided.
Then, the first part located at the lowest part below the cooler (13)
1 drain port (20) and empty from this first drain port (20)
On the downstream side of the air and above the first drain port (20).
And a second drain port (21) located
Road (18) outside the bend where wind speed increases
(18a) and from the second drain port (21).
At a position further upward, the projecting part into the second air passage (18).
(19) and bend along the outer part (18a).
That the condensed water is blown up by the rib (19)
It is characterized by suppression. According to this, the cooler
(13) The air passing from above to below is passed through the second air passage.
In (18), the cooling unit is turned upward.
However, the rib (19) projecting into the second air passage (18)
Therefore, the condensed water in the portion (18a) outside the bend
Since the blow-up phenomenon can be suppressed, the condensed water
Flying to the downstream side can be effectively suppressed. Moreover, cooling
Of condensed water collected in the lowest part of the lower part of the vessel (13)
The drain (20) can be drained at the same time as the rib (19)
Of condensed water blocked by the second drain port (21)
Water can be condensed and drained smoothly
Can be.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the rib
(19) extends over substantially the entire length of the second air passage (18) in the width direction.
Can be formed into a plate-like shape
The structure is extremely simple compared to the mesh of
it can. Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 5, it is made of resin.
If the rib (19) is formed integrally with the case (14),
Cost can be reduced. Note that the reference numerals in parentheses attached to the respective means indicate the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiment described later.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cooling unit 10 according to the present embodiment. This cooling unit 10 is a rear-seat cooling unit for an air conditioner for a vehicle, and can be mounted on a vehicle in the same manner as in FIGS. The description is omitted.

The basic configuration of the cooling unit 10 of the present embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 8 described above. FIG. 2 shows a state in which a pillar duct 15 is connected to the air outlet 10 a of the cooling unit 10. In the present embodiment, in the cooling unit case 14 made of resin, the second air passage 18 that bends from below the evaporator 13 upward to guide the air upward.
In particular, the case inner wall surface 18 outside the bend
a, a rib 19 protruding into the second air passage 18 is arranged,
The rib 19 suppresses the movement of the condensed water 105 that can be blown up at a portion outside the bend.

The rib 19 has a plate-like shape formed over substantially the entire length of the second air passage 18 in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIGS. 1 and 2 and the vehicle width direction). It is integrally molded. However, in this example, the cooling unit case 14 is divided into two in the vehicle left-right direction, and after the evaporator 13 and the like are accommodated, the right case and the left case can be detachably attached using fastening means such as a metal spring clip (not shown). It is designed to be joined together.

Therefore, the rib 19 is actually connected to the right case.
It will be molded separately from the left case.
You. The right and left cases respectively
Not shown between the divided ribs 19
By setting a small gap, condensed water can pass through this small gap.
It is so. Further, the shape of the rib 19 is shown in FIG.
More specifically, the tip area of the rib 19 is provided at the tip.
Are formed integrally with each other.
The area enlargement portion 19a is configured to allow air to flow from the tip of the rib 19.
It has a shape that is bent at right angles to the upstream side. Where
A specific design example of the rib 19 will be described.
Projection height H = about 30 mm, thickness t = about 1.5 to 2 mm
The width W of the area enlarged portion 19a is about 3 to 5 mm.
In addition, the rib 19 is perpendicular to the case inner wall surface 18a (θ ₁
= 90 °).

The evaporator 13 constitutes a cooler for cooling the blown air, and the refrigerant of the well-known vehicle air conditioning refrigeration cycle evaporates to cool the air. On the other hand, the bottom surface of the cooling unit case 14 is inclined so that the front side of the vehicle is high and the rear side of the vehicle is low as shown in FIG.
2 are formed. The concave groove portion 22 collects condensed water on the bottom surface of the case 14 and is formed to extend in the vehicle front-rear direction at a central portion in the vehicle left-right direction and portions on both sides of the bottom surface of the case 14. Case 1
At the front end and the rear end of the vehicle on the bottom surface of 4, a concave groove 22 is formed so as to extend also in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The first drain port 20 is opened at the lowest portion (the rearmost portion of the vehicle) of the concave groove portion 22 in the central portion of the concave groove portion 22 in the vehicle left-right direction.

A second drain port 21 is formed in a side surface of the groove 22 at the front end of the vehicle. Therefore, the second drain port 21 is located downstream of the first drain port 20 in the air (left side in FIG. 1) and above the first drain port 20. The rib 19 described above is located further above the second drain port 21. Drain pipes 23 and 24 are connected to the first and second drain ports 20 and 21, respectively.
Is connected to the inlet side of the three-way connector 25, and one drain pipe 26 is connected to the outlet side of the three-way connector 25, and the condensed water is discharged outside the vehicle through the drain pipe 26.

Next, the operation of this embodiment in the above configuration will be described. To operate the rear-seat cooling unit 10, the compressor (not shown) and the blower 12 of the air conditioning refrigeration cycle are operated. By the operation of the blower 12, the air inside the vehicle (inside air) is sucked into the blower 12, and the first and second air are blown.
The air is blown through the air passages 17 and 18 as indicated by arrow A in the figure. That is, the air blown by the blower 12 is introduced from the first air passage 17 to the upper side of the evaporator 13, passes through the evaporator 13 from above to below, and then turns upward in the second air passage 18. And flow

During this time, the blown air is cooled by the evaporator 13 to become cool air. This cold air flows from the air outlet 10a of the cooling unit 10 via the pillar duct 15 to the ceiling duct 16 of FIG.
Cooling air is blown out from the front and rear of the vehicle ceiling to cool the rear seat side of the vehicle. On the other hand, due to the cooling action in the evaporator 13, moisture in the blown air is condensed, and a part of the condensed water falls directly to the bottom of the case 14 by gravity. B on the bottom of the case 14 in FIG. 1 indicates the condensed water that has dropped. However, the remaining condensed water is blown upward in the second air passage 18 under the influence of the dynamic pressure of the airflow flowing as indicated by the arrow A. This phenomenon of blowing up the condensed water in the second air passage 18 remarkably occurs along the portion of the second air passage 18 where the wind speed is high, that is, along the case inner wall surface 18a which is the outer portion of the channel bend. 1 is a case inner wall surface 18a.
Shows condensed water that is blown up along the line.

In this embodiment, the case inner wall surface 18a
Since the ribs 19 projecting at a predetermined height H into the second air passage 18 are disposed at the portions, the movement of the condensed water 105 that can be blown up at a portion outside the bend of the flow path is suppressed by the ribs 19. Can be. Here, if the shape of the rib 19 is a simple plate extending to the tip end with the same thickness as shown in FIG. 4B, the area of the tip end of the rib 19 is small.
The contact area between the condensed water 106 blown up to the rib tip and the tip of the rib is reduced. For this reason, the condensed water 106 becomes a polka dot with a high height and is easily subjected to the wind pressure of the blown air. Therefore, the surface tension of the condensed water 106 is defeated by the wind pressure, and the condensed water 106 easily flies to the downstream side of the air.

On the other hand, as the shape of the tip of the rib 19, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), an area-enlarging portion 19 having a shape bent at a right angle from the tip of the rib 19 to the upstream side of the air flow.
When a is integrally formed and the area of the rib tip is enlarged, the condensed water 107 that has reached the area enlarged portion 19a spreads in a thin film shape, so that it is difficult to receive the wind pressure of the blowing air. For this reason, the condensed water 107 at the tip of the rib 19 can be satisfactorily suppressed from scattering to the downstream side of the air.

The space 27 on the back side of the rib 19 is
Since the air flow is interrupted by the rib 19, the pressure is lower than at other parts. Therefore, the condensed water 107 on the area enlarged portion 19a is sucked into the space 27 on the back side of the rib. The condensed water collected at the root of the rib 19 in the space 27 falls downward in the case 14 through a gap between the ribs 19 of the left and right split cases when the blower is stopped.

Also, since the area enlarged portion 19a is bent from the tip of the rib 19 to the upstream side of the air flow,
In comparison with the case where the airflow is bent downstream, the condensed water can be prevented from climbing onto the enlarged area 19a. Further, the condensed water collected at the lowest portion below the evaporator 13 is drained from the first drain port 20, and at the same time, the condensed water blocked by the rib 19 is drained from the second drain port 21. The condensed water can be drained smoothly.

(Other Embodiments) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the cooling unit 10 is configured as a rear-seat cooling unit shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 has been described. As long as the cooling unit 10 has the air flow form indicated by the arrow A, any type of the cooling unit 10 can exert the effect of suppressing the scattering of condensed water, and therefore, the layout of the vehicle mounted on the vehicle is limited. is not.

Further, the specific shape, dimensions, and the like of the rib 19 are not limited to the above-described example, but can be variously modified. Further, the evaporator 13 is not limited to the above-described combination of the plate fin and the round tube. For example, a tube having a flat cross section is formed by joining two metal (aluminum) thin plates in the middle. It goes without saying that a well-known laminated evaporator or the like having a configuration in which a large number of tubes and corrugated fins are alternately laminated and brazed integrally may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which a pillar duct is connected to an air outlet of the cooling unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a specific example of the shape of a rib for preventing condensed water from scattering according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a cooling unit of a conventional vehicle air conditioner.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view showing a state in which a cooling unit according to the present invention is mounted on a vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a cooling unit and a duct on an air outlet side in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a study example of a cooling unit in the process of devising the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cooling unit for rear seats, 12 ... Blower, 13 ... Evaporator, 14 ... Cooling unit case, 17 ... First ventilation path, 1
Reference numeral 8: second air passage, 18a: inner wall surface of the case (outside portion of the channel bend), 19: rib, 19a: enlarged area, 20,
21 ... First and second drain outlets.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-141688 (JP, A) JP-A-8-268040 (JP, A) JP-A-1-269609 (JP, A) JP-A-8-A 48130 (JP, A) JP-A-9-86151 (JP, A) JP-A-10-58939 (JP, A) JP-A-57-175421 (JP, A) Real opening 58-61614 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 60-138823 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 59-102515 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 58-28893 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60H 1/32 613 F24F 1/00 361 F25B 39/02 B60H 1/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An air blower (12) and the air blower (12)
A cooler (13) for cooling the air blown from the case, a case (14) for accommodating the cooler (13), and provided on the bottom surface of the case (14) and generated by the cooler (13). In a cooling unit of a vehicle air conditioner provided with a drain port (20, 21) for discharging condensed water, the cooler (13) is arranged at a predetermined angle (θ) from a horizontal plane such that the downstream side of the air is upward. Air is passed from above to below through the cooler (13), and the air blown from the blower (12) is fed into the case (14) above the cooler (13). A first air passage (17) for guiding the air, and a second air passage (18) that is bent upward from below the cooler (13) to guide the air upward.
There are formed, the on site outside bend wind speed is high (18a) in the second air passage (18), arranged ribs (19) projecting in said second air passage (18), said ribs At the tip of (19), the area of the rib (19)
Forming an area-enlarging portion (19a) for expanding the condensed water along the portion (18a) outside the bend by the rib (19). unit. 2. The method according to claim 2, wherein the area enlarging portion (19a) includes the rib.
(19) Bent at right angle from the tip to the upstream side of air flow
The cooling unit for a vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit has a shaped shape . 3. A blower (12) and the blower (12)
(13) that cools the air blown from
(14) for accommodating the container (13) and this case
It is provided on the bottom of (14), and is generated by the cooler (13).
Drainage outlets (20, 21) for discharging condensed water produced
In the cooling unit of the vehicular air conditioner, the drainage port is provided at a lower side of the cooler (13).
A first drain port (20) located at the site and the first drain port
Downstream of the port (20) and the first drain port
(20) with a second drain port (21) located above
The cooler (13) is provided with water so that the downstream side of the air is upward.
The cooling device is disposed at a predetermined angle (θ) from a plane and is inclined.
(13) As air passes from above to below
And the air from the blower (12) is placed in the case (14).
A first air duct for guiding wind air above the cooler (13)
(17) and from above to below the cooler (13)
A second air passage (18) that turns toward and guides air upwards
Is formed , and the wind speed is increased in the second air passage (18).
An outer portion (18a) and the second drain port
(21) The second air passage (1)
8) A rib (19) protruding inside is arranged, and condensed water is blown along the portion (18a) outside the bend.
Suppression of lifting by the rib (19)
A cooling unit for a vehicle air conditioner. Wherein said ribs (19) are all of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said second is a plate-like shape formed over substantially the entire width of the air passage (18)
A cooling unit for a vehicle air conditioner according to any one of the preceding claims. Wherein said casing (14) is made of resin, according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the rib (19) is integrally molded on the casing (14) Cooling unit for vehicle air conditioners.